Ethics in the digital workplace
Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can affect working conditions in a variety of ways and their use in the workplace raises a host of new ethical concerns.
The construction company Edvardsson Byggresurs announced on the 15th of January 2024 that it would cease operations. The company was previously working as a subcontractor to larger firms on large construction projects.
The company had already dismissed around 70 employees in the period since the summer of 2023, due the high interest rates and subsequent downturn in demand in the construction sector.
Besides high interest rates, the company also cite unfair competition as a reason behind the ceasing of operations. The high interest rates affected the construction of new large housing projects, which usually has more rigorous controls of subcontracted labour, and the available jobs were done by companies using unfair business practices and labour exploitation to deliver at much lower costs, making competition impossible, according to a statement by Edvardsson Byggresurs.
Eurofound (2024), Edvardsson Byggresurs , Closure in Sweden, factsheet number 202193, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/202193.